Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever [Hardcover]

First, a disclaimer: I knew Will very well back in the mid- to late-70s; we hung out together and went to many concerts. (A whole group of us were regular concert goers.) So my opinion of this book is certainly influenced by that personal connection.

In any case, Will looks at a somewhat arbitrary 5-year period in the 70s (he easily could have extended it a year or two in either direction), and goes into great detail about the NYC music scene during that time. Not only did it see the rise of groups from CBGBs and Max's Kansas City (Talking Heads, Ramones and others), the minimalists (Steve Reich, Philip Glass), performance artists, and the early days of hip-hop, but it also was a key time for the ascendancy of salsa, singer-songwriter rock (Springsteen, Patti Smith, etc.) and jazz. Will was always an eclectic listener, and among my friends, was the one with the most varied record collection. He writes here about all these styles of music - yes, even disco, which sucked - with erudition and feeling.

As I look back on the 70s from a distance, I realize that not only were those formative years for my own musical tastes, but that they did, indeed, have lasting influence. Will points out how much of this gestation was under the radar for years before becoming influential, and highlights a number of forgotten musicians and artists that were essential back in the day. (And there were plenty of non-NYC bands that passed through: the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, Genesis - okay, I was a prog rock fan), Santana, the country rock bands like Lynard Skynard and the Marshall Tucker Band, and so much more.)

New York City in the late 70s was an amazing city for concerts. My friends and I would go to one or two a month, and many more in the summer (we'd hang out on the hill beside the Wollman skating rink in Central Park to listen to many of the concerts that we didn't care enough to pay for. Madison Square Garden, the Palladium, even the Nassau Coliseum were places we frequented, seeing shows by the big rock bands of the time, and in smaller venues, seeing an even broader range of performers. (And in spite of our lack of funds, these concerts were affordable.)

So there's a lot of nostalgia for me in the book. For others, who are younger, or not from NYC, you'll certainly learn a lot about the music scene, but especially understand how much of a connection there was among the different genres of the time. If you love music, read this book; you'll enjoy it.

Captures a time and place of music history that is endlessly re-attempted. This book make you feel like you were there. Caution: You may end up buying a lot of new records you should already know as a result of reading this.

I’ve often felt that in the mainstream rock press mainly ignored the advent of Hip Hop and Disco and overstated the importance of Punk Rock. The cultural significance of Hip Hop and Disco often found little appreciation with writers on popular culture. Only in recent years has Rolling Stone magazine begun to take Hip Hop serious for example, a mere 40 years after its conception.

Will Hermes book does a lot to place Hip Hop and Disco in the proper context. Not only does he seem to have a fond appreciation of the genres, he places them against a political and social economical backdrop that does a lot in explaining why the genres would grow as big as they did. Such insights were long overdue in writings about popular culture.

But the book even goes further than that. Will Hermes restores Bruce Springsteen’s place in the early seventies Rock and Punk scene. Because Springsteen became an act of mega proportions it is easy to forget how close he was to acts like the Tuff Darts, the Dictators and the Heartbreakers early in his career when he played the same joints as the Ramones and Patti Smith.

Hermes also analyses parallel developments in classical music, Jazz and Latin-American music. Minimalism seems to have been a common trend across the board as a response to the dire economical times.

Will Hermes often writes form the perspective as a fan, tells about his own experiences seeing some of the now legendary acts when they were just coming up, thus adding a contagious flavour to the book. But he also seems to have gone to great lengths to familiarize himself with the genres that did not necessarily play an important part in the soundtrack of his youth.

The book portraits a full picture of an era without coming of too academic. Though the book comes off as a bit fragmentary at times I applaud the author in how he avoids creating connections where there are none, but leaves the reader to discover the common thread. Will Hermes has managed an enthusiastic but to the point style, which left me curious for music I would not have considered listening to before reading this book. I highly recommend reading Love Goes to Buildings on Fire with a little help from Spotify, mister Hermes and the music will take you on a trip through the Big Apple that by now has (sadly) disappeared.